Rakuten

Rakuten Group, Inc.
Native name
楽天グループ株式会社
Rakuten Group kabushiki kaisha
FormerlyMDM, Inc. (1997–1999)
Company typePublic KK
Industry
Founded7 February 1998; 26 years ago (1998-02-07)
FounderHiroshi Mikitani
HeadquartersSetagaya, ,
Area served
30 countries and regions
Key people
Hiroshi Mikitani
(Chairman and CEO)
Masayuki Hosaka
(Vice Chairman)
ServicesOnline shopping
RevenueIncrease ¥1,681.76 billion (2021)[1]
Decrease ¥−194.7 billion (2021)[1]
Decrease ¥−135.8 billion (2021)[1]
Total assetsIncrease ¥16,831.2 billion (2021)[1]
Total equityIncrease ¥629.01 billion (2021)[1]
Owner
Number of employees
18,364 (2019)
Subsidiaries
Websiterakuten.com

Rakuten Group, Inc.[a] (楽天グループ株式会社, Rakuten Gurūpu kabushikigaisha, pronounced [ɾakɯ̥teɴ], lit.'Optimism') is a Japanese technology conglomerate based in Tokyo, founded by Hiroshi Mikitani in 1997. Centered around the online retail marketplace Rakuten Ichiba, its businesses include financial services utilizing Fintech, digital content and communications services such as the messaging app Viber, e-book distributor Kobo, and Japan's fourth-most used mobile carrier, Rakuten Mobile.[2] Rakuten has more than 28,000 employees worldwide, operating in 30 countries and regions,[3] and its revenues totalling US $12.8 billion as of 2021.[4] Rakuten was the official sponsor of the Spanish football club FC Barcelona from 2017 until 2022,[5][6] and the Golden State Warriors of the NBA as of 2022. It is sometimes referred to as the "Amazon of Japan".[7]

Some past significant investments include Buy.com (now Rakuten.com in the US), Priceminister (France, now Rakuten.fr),[8] Ikeda, Tradoria, Play.com, Wuaki.tv, Pinterest,[9] Ebates, Viki, The Grommet. The company also holds and has held stakes in Ozon.ru, AHA Life, Lyft, Cabify, Careem, Carousell and Acorns.

  1. ^ a b c d e Earnings Release for Q4 of FY2021 Financial Results (PDF) (Report). Rakuten. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
  2. ^ "Rakuten set to launch a wireless mobile network in Japan - Tamebay". tamebay.com. 17 May 2018. Archived from the original on 2020-06-16. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  3. ^ "About Us". Rakuten Group, Inc. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  4. ^ "Financial Data". Rakuten Group, Inc. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  5. ^ "Gross Merchandise Sales & Number of Employees", Rakuten
  6. ^ Andy Gensler, "Napster Partners With Japan's Rakuten Music", Billboard, May 31, 2017.
  7. ^ Evelyn M. Rusli, "Pinterest on Wish List of Rakuten, Japan's Amazon", The New York Times, July 12, 2012.
  8. ^ "Rakuten abandonne la marque PriceMinister", Le Monde, November 6, 2019
  9. ^ Reisinger, Don. "Why did Rakuten invest so much in Pinterest? Integration". CNET. Retrieved 2023-02-04.


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